Arm movement improves performance in clinical balance and mobility tests

Previous studies have suggested that arm movements can contribute to preventing the loss of balance or falls, and that aging affects the functions of arm movements. Clinical balance and mobility tests may be able to detect such aging effects. As the first step to approaching this question, the purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effects of arm movements on the performance of clinical balance and mobility tests. Ten participants were evaluated in four clinical tests: (1) Maximal Step Length Test (MST), (2) Step Test (ST), (3) Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), and (4) Walk along an Elliptical Line (WEL). Each test was performed with free and limited arm movement and the outcomes were compared. Statistical analysis indicated a significant improvement in test performance when arms were used freely for three out of four tests (MST, ST and TUG), with inconclusive results on WEL. This pilot study showed improved performance on the clinical balance and mobility tests, suggesting that the contribution of arm movements is sufficiently large to be detected. This implies a feasibility for novel usage of clinical balance and mobility tests, i.e., to test the effectiveness of arm usage in balance and mobility.